help with bids ¦ candid commercial

bids

Whether you're bidding to win contracts or to win funding, candid's combined knowledge of what scores well and how the law applies to these situations can give you a real competitive edge.

Drawing on extensive experience of advising on and running procurements for customers and funders, as well as both supporting bidders and being a bidder, we have built up a valuable 360° practical knowledge of what wins and loses bids, which you can tap into.

When it comes to public sector bids and grant funding, candid can also help take you to the next level by using a detailed knowledge of the intricate legal rules surrounding these opportunities to your practical advantage.

winning

Whether it's running your whole bid response, or working with you to help optimise it, candid can add real value by, for example:

Using first-hand experience of how your bid will be scored to help identify where the scoring methodology offers particular opportunities to set your organisation apart.

Helping you to properly quantify the risks involved, allowing you to price those risks more confidently and remain competitive on price.

Drawing out your special selling points and helping you to articulate them in a way which runs consistently throughout your bid and will resonate with the evaluators.

Making strategic use of the clarification question regime (a pet subject - feel free to drop us a line to ask why).

Setting up effective and robust teaming arrangements with other organisations, enabling you to present a more compelling combined offering, with full confidence between the teaming partners and maximum credibility in the eyes of evaluators.

running

With genuine experience of working with a wide range of buyers and funders, candid has a particular strength in helping organisations which are running bids to step away from a purely compliance-driven, box-ticking approach - and getting to the heart of what you're really trying to achieve, then designing a bid process and scoring methodology which will actually help to deliver that (and all whilst staying compliant with any applicable laws).

Practical examples include:

Stress-testing scoring methodologies to make sure they can't be "gamed" by bidders, or otherwise give you a winner you don't want.

Identifying up-front any risks which bidders will not be able to take on without pricing disproportionately - making sure you maintain good value for money.

Applying first-hand experience of how long different bid processes and stages will take, and what resourcing they will need, to help you keep to timetable.

In collaborative procurements, helping all the buyers to balance their differing priorities and ensure that the benefits of buying together outweigh the hassles.

public procurement

Bidding to and buying for the public sector can be a legal and compliance minefield. With authoritative knowledge of how the rules work (including in the specialist defence and public utility sectors), candid is well-placed to:

help bidders navigate the process (whether it's a competitive dialogue, competitive procedure with negotiation, restricted procedure, or otherwise) with confidence - including spotting when they have lost out due to a rules breach and knowing what to do about that; and

enable public sector bodies to take a confident, pragmatic, risk-based approach to procurement - using alternative, lighter-touch procurement approaches where possible and making sure the compliance tail doesn't wag the operational dog.

grant funding

Whilst the process of applying for grant funding can be very similar to bidding for a public sector contract, there are important differences and some special quirks that can catch out or put off some organisations. This is a shame, because grant funding can give organisations a real commercial boost.

With experience of working with both funders and funding applicants, candid can help to demystify the process (including advising on those scary-looking terms and conditions, and helping to complete any state aid declarations). We can also help you to take a proper, commercial look at whether (and how) the benefits of the funding outweigh all the strings attached to it.

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